The Questions

On that day you will say:
“I will give thanks to you, Lord,
although you were angry with me.
Your anger has turned away,
and you have comforted me.
2 Indeed, God is my salvation;
I will trust him and not be afraid,
for the Lord, the Lord himself,
is my strength and my song.
He has become my salvation.”
3 You will joyfully draw water
from the springs of salvation,
4 and on that day you will say:
“Give thanks to the Lord; proclaim his name!
Make his works known among the peoples.
Declare that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things.
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel is among you
in his greatness.”

Original Intent

1) How is this hymn divided up and how can its structure influence my own declaration of praise?It is quite common for hymns, prophesies, and other passages of Scripture to have an intentional rhythmic structure. Knowing what marks to look for help us slow down and take apart Scripture piece by piece in order to better understand it. Particularly, repeated phrases or calls to action are big flags to take note of and study in parallel. Here, on the heals of a prophesy declaring destruction as a consequence for sin followed by the promise of healing, redemption, and restoration, Isaiah calls the nation to a coming day (verse 1) when they will sing praise to the Lord. Each section of the praise hymn begins with the phrase, “On that day you will say”. This is a clear call to action that Isaiah repeats for emphasis, and between the 2 “verses” of the song, a pivotal chorus stands out as both anchor and hinge-point. Go ahead and look at the passage for yourself and see if you can find the “verses” and “chorus” of the song!

2) What is the source of this outpouring of praise?The anchor of the hymn is found sandwiched between the 2 stanzas of the praise song in verse 3 with the intention of drawing attention to the reason the people are singing. Their reason? The joyful salvation of the Rescuing Savior! He allowed them to see how their sin separated them from the Lord, and then provided the healing by saving them Himself. If you go back into chapter 11 before this passage, you’ll read of the “root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1) on whom the Holy Spirit rests (Isaiah 11:2-3), by whom justice is delivered (Isaiah 11:4), whose character is both righteous and faithful (Isaiah 11:5), and by whom such peace will prevail that the lion will lay down with the lamb (Isaiah 11:6). This prophecy speaks of only One with such greatness, the Lord Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man, to come one day as a Mighty Rescuer for mankind by laying down His life for sinners like you and I. The salvation that would one day be provided by Jesus, the coming “root of Jesse” through King David, is the anchoring source of the hymn of praise in Isaiah 12.

3) What are the main goals of this hymn?The overarching thrust of the hymn is to bring praise to the Lord. Praise for His mercy in showing Israel her sin that she might repent. Praise for His gracious forgiveness as He drew her near and forgave. Praise for His salvation that eternally provides deep-seated joy, peace, and comfort that surpass all understanding. Praise for His comfort and constant supply of strength through His presence. The Lord alone deserves such praise and the goal of the hymn is to declare exactly this! As we pay particular attention to verses 4-6, we find the singers declaring this praise not only to the Lord, but to the nations. This song glorifies God, but it does it through the telling of their own salvation to all around them. “Make His work known among the peoples!” (verse 4) “Let this be known throughout the earth!” (verse 5)“Cry out and sing, Zion!”. (verse 6) The song that brings the most glory to God is the story of transformative salvation!

Everyday Application

1) How is this hymn divided up and how can its structure influence my own declaration of praise?The first section of the song, in verses 1-2, focuses on the personal nature of their story. The Lord had brought punishment because of their sin, He had opened their eyes to see how they had walked away from Him, but He did not leave them there. The people praise the Lord because His discipline brought repentance and now He has drawn near, bringing comfort, strength, and peace without fear.
The second section, found in verses 4-6, focuses on telling that story of redemption and restoration to the ends of the earth. They praise God for His character, His mighty rescue, and the dwelling of the Lord with them.
The anchoring chorus in verse 3 sings of the pure joy found in the salvation of the Lord, which feeds the praise in both the beginning and end sections of the song.
When we praise the Lord and declare His goodness by sharing our faith stories with others, we can use this same model. Our goal should be to first and foremost, bring the Lord praise for Who He is and what He has done, but our secondary goal should be to draw others in that they too can see how good the Lord is!

2) What is the source of this outpouring of praise?The “one day” Isaiah prophesied about where all would come and praise the Lord for His rescuing salvation did indeed finally come on the day Jesus laid down His life as an atoning sacrifice on our behalf. We, separated from a right relationship with the Lord because of our sin, were drawn near through the loving redemption of the cross where Christ took our punishment of death upon Himself, giving us His life as He once and for all swallowed up Death with His Life! This is the anchor of every believer’s story and song; it is the hinge-point of our faith, and the source of our joy because we who once were lost have now been found. Once we were dead in our sin, hopeless and alone, (Ephesians 2:1) but now we are alive and made free (Ephesians 2:5) as we are hidden in the eternal life of Christ! (Colossians 3:3) This prophesy from Isaiah gives us reason to sing today because of our Rescuer’s death and resurrection hundreds of years ago, but it also points even farther ahead to another “one day”. One day, Jesus will return and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. (Philippians 2:10-11) One day His return will signal the perfect union between the Lord God and His Bride, the Church, which includes every believer. For the Christ follower, regardless of circumstances, these two anchors of past salvation and coming redemption, will always give us reason to sing!

3) What are the main goals of this hymn?Sister across the screen from me, I don’t know your day-to-day. I can’t count your losses, see your tears, or feel the aching heaviness you carry, but I do know I can relate. Days of delight or days of weariness or days of pain so intense it consumes us…I haven’t walked in every shoe, but I’ve walked these days in mine. Regardless of the scene playing out around me, I have always found one constant…. the saving redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. Always. Never changing. The Lord who never leaves, who never casts me off, who never mocks or shames, and who has rescued me from an eternity stuck and separated from Him because of my sin is worthy of all my praise. So sing, I will. Through tears, through heartache, through loss, or in joy, I will declare the goodness of my Lord. Because singing this song is anchored in a truth that will never change. He Is Worthy! Sing it out, girl, sing it out!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?Catch up with Lives Ablaze!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study andwww.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Read His Words Before Ours!

“Indeed, God is my salvation;I will trust him and not be afraid,for the Lord, the Lord himself,is my strength and my song.He has become my salvation.”(Isaiah 12:2)

As I listened to these words pouring from the mouth of a 16-year-old boy, I could only marvel at the transformation that had taken place.

He was participating in a training camp for young people who were going to be junior leaders at summer camps. For the past few days, he had been lively and confident, joining in with all the tasks, but that morning it had been obvious something was wrong. He had been silent and sullen, brushing away any attempts to discover what was bothering him. Then he had disappeared…

He was gone for over an hour but, just as we were beginning to worry, he returned, grinning from ear to ear, insisting I listen to this chapter from Isaiah because it described exactly what had just happened for him!

It turned out that although he had known about Jesus all his life, he had never really responded, putting his faith in Jesus. That morning he had been challenged and, as he took some time to walk and talk with God, he had finally taken that step, and it had changed everything. Something had awakened within him and where there had been knowledge, there was now passion and a genuine, living faith.

It was amazing to witness this transformation in just one individual; I can only imagine what it would be like to see thousands dramatically changed, but, during the Great Awakening that’s exactly what happened.

It was one of the most significant events in 18th century church history; a series of revivals across Britain and North America during the 1730s and 40s. It came at a time of growing discontent among many in the church about compromise and a relaxing of standards, and there was an increasing desire for revival.

But when it came it was not a work of man, but of God.
As Jesus put it:“The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound,
but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”(John 3:8)

Jonathan Edwards, a minister in Northampton, Massachusetts, was one of the key people God used. Troubled by his perception that people were too concerned with worldly matters and that some were looking to good works for salvation instead of God’s grace, he began preaching a message of salvation by faith alone. (like Martin Luther 200 years prior) Edwards preached with passion and energy and saw many converted to faith in Jesus.

Meanwhile, in the UK, a group known as the Holy Club was meeting at Oxford University. John and Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield were key figures in this group, which focused on spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible study, as well as serving those in need. It was only after genuine conversion experiences they were transformed and went on to become key figures in the revivals.

Wesley’s conversion experience came in 1738. After returning from a failed mission trip to Georgia, he encountered some Moravians, who challenged his ideas about faith and caused him to feel there was something missing. His description of the experience that followed has become well-known:

“In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. ” (Journal of John Wesley)

Following his conversion, Wesley’s preaching took on new life. He travelled as an itinerant preacher and set up groups to help his followers grow in their faith. This movement eventually gave birth to the Methodist denomination.

George Whitefield also became an influential preacher, both in Britain and America. Known for his ability to draw a crowd, he often preached outdoors as there was no building big enough for all those who gathered to listen. He often included slaves and Native Americans as he preached, which was rare at the time, giving the message that Christianity was for everyone, regardless of race or status.

The impact of the Great Awakening was widespread and long-lasting. Thousands came to faith in Jesus and, despite some opposition from traditionalists who opposed the revival, there was also a new unity between Christians of different denominations, with a common evangelical identity based on the Gospel and a willingness to work together to further God’s Kingdom.

But it all began with individual people.
As they encountered God, something was ignited within them, which in turn ignited the world around them. They had come to see and truly understand, as the boy at my training camp did many years later, that it was not enough just to have knowledge about Jesus. They needed to put their faith in Him and allow Him to transform them from within.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Ignite Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!